Bérard, Christian

1902 – 1949
French

Artist, fashion illustrator, set and costume designer and interior decorator, Christian “Bébé” Bérard was a major figure in the French theatre and ballet world of the 1930s and 40s.  Though slovenly in his own appearance (he kept his trousers up with a string), his work for the Ballets Russes, Jean-Michel Frank, Coco Chanel and Jean Cocteau, among many other luminaries, was impeccable.

Bérard and his lover Boris Kochno were one of the most prominent openly homosexual couples in Paris at that time.  Sadly, he died of a heart attack at the age of 47 leaving the Russian Kockno to manage his Estate.